So many of us judge our faith and our lives by a moment in time. Doing that can cause us to give up, become discouraged and even quit trying because one thing, or several things didn't work out the way we wanted it to. We should look at our life and our faith and evaluate it by a lifetime of events, not on a single one. The life that we've been given should be viewed as a journey or even a marathon. When you go on a journey, there are ups and downs, peaks and valleys. It's important to keep in mind that allowing a moment (either hurtful, or disappointing) to define your whole life is unhealthy to say the least. All of us must realize that our lives are made up of many moments, good and bad. In my own life, I've had good, sad, hurtful and disappointing moments as well as encouraging moments. Not one of these singular moments is going to "define" my whole life. That's why all of us must purpose to deal with each moment as they come, realizing that the negative, bad moments won't last forever and the highs of the good moments won't be peaking forever, either. Here's what we do know: God is our strength and the negative moments will pass. Let's live our lives with the totality of a full life. Just a thought, God bless. PSS

Often people are tempted to outright blame God for their troubles, misfortunes and negative circumstances. It's interesting that, for most of these people, when things are going well, they won't give God any credit at all. You might even hear them say, "I worked hard for this," or "I decided this," or "I got lucky on this one." But you won't hear them say, "God blessed me," or "God helped me." People say things like, "God could've prevented this or that from happening." My question is "How?" How could He stop or prevent things from happening if we don't listen to Him? Now can you see how important it is to be a doer of the Word and to learn it and put it into practice? Some people learn the Word of God like a history book instead of learning it with a mindset to apply it to our everyday lives. This is one way the Lord can help us everyday. Today, lots of people are figuring out ways to justify why they don't do some part of the Word, instead of just doing it. Then they wonder why things happen the way they do, or why decisions they made just end up in regret. You might get away with ignoring the Word in a particular area for a while, but it won't work for you forever. Today, Christians, or so-called Christians, think they don't have to tithe, serve or even attend church, and we wonder why society is so messed up. Let's get back to learning and become doers of God's Word and not hearers only. Just a thought, God bless. PSS

Most of us, upon getting up in the morning, want to feel secure in life. As people, we place our security in many different things. For some, it's in other people, so when someone lets us down, we become devastated. For others, it's in our jobs, and haven&'t we seen this before? What looks like a secure company suddenly goes under. Whatever it is suddenly becomes our god and savior. It becomes the thing we serve. The Bible says not to put our trust in uncertain riches that are here today and gone tomorrow. We need to be secure in who created us, the earth, and everything in it. If we are secure in God, we will always be able to handle whatever is thrown at us. Too many people put their trust in the wrong things, and for that reason, many people are hurting and broken. If we dare to put our trust in God, He is faithful, reliable and the one we can count on. Where does your security lie? Have we mistakenly put our trust in something that will fail one day, or are we willing to place our trust in someone who will never fail? ...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10

Just a thought, God bless.

PSS

Do you blame others for what goes wrong in your life? Is it always someone else's fault? Do you look to the future and can only see bad things ahead for you? Do you identify with those who have a complaint or talk about how someone is always doing them wrong? If you do, you may have a "Victim Mentality." It's an attitude that sees everything as negative and never takes responsibility for anything. This attitude is a way of thinking that destroys all hope and any thought of becoming better or wiser in life. It defeats you even before the fight begins. You easily quit things and soon become angry at life. There is hope and an answer for overcoming it. It usually begins with forgiving something or someone who has abused you or has caused you to be afraid. Next, you forgive yourself, if for nothing else; maybe you were afraid and put up with it. Maybe you feel guilty and feel like you deserved it (which you don't). There is a time when we have to forgive ourselves for doing, or not doing, something we regretted. Once this is done, you are on your way to changing your life and moving forward. You have to start somewhere and sometime. This is a great day to begin.

Just a thought, God bless.

PSS

In our society and culture, some people just can't handle any type of correction. Some will say it hurts their self-esteem and mental health. I believe people react to correction in two ways. First, they accept it, process it, and make the necessary corrections in their behavior or attitude that is required to do a better job. The second reaction is, unfortunately, quickly becoming the norm, rather than the exception; that is, they see correction as abuse. This is one way to determine if you have a "victim mentality." If anyone corrects a person who thinks wrong, they will say things like, "...the policeman was mean to me...the teacher doesn't like me...my parents are just awful to me..." and it goes on and on. It was never, "I was speeding and deserved the ticket...I was out of line in class and shouldn't have done what I did...my parents loved me and disciplined me properly." The difference is that the victim sees it as abuse, while the person who is moving forward sees it for what it is: correction for bad behavior or a mistake made. Isn't it interesting that God corrects those He loves, and too many of us see correction as bad?

Just a thought, God bless.

PSS